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Aurora · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas counties · Denver Metro · home rule municipality · Pop. 410,053 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 390,508 · Census finance data FY2016–FY2023

You’re viewing FY2021. See the latest view (FY2023). Latest Census Bureau finance data for Aurora: FY2023. Retrieved Oct 2026. Newer years are added when the Census Bureau publishes them. Why the lag?

City website (opens in a new tab)

Compare

FY2021 in brief

Aurora collected $2,415 per resident (including city-run utilities), in line with the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 29% below its peers. Tax revenue per resident sits 11% above its peers, and 33% above the state median. Debt per resident runs 28% below peers.

Generated from the figures below. Every number links to its Census source.

Compared with

Nearest on population, household income and region

FY2021 headline figures

Revenue per resident (definition)

$2,415
29% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$3,396
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 47% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+7.6%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$2,422
28% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$3,355
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 57% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+7.9%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$1,421
11% above peers
Peer median
$1,276
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 67% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+10.8%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$2,145
28% below peers
Peer median
$2,987
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 67% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+4.3%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $2,415
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $2,415 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $943.1M ÷ population 390,508 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A50 Housing & community development charges
    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • B89 Federal aid
    • C89 State aid
    • D89 Local government aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T15 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T19 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T20 Licenses & permits
    • T21 Licenses & permits
    • T24 Licenses & permits
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • T99 Other taxes
    • U01 Special assessments
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Aurora runs city-owned utilities, which add 14.2% of its revenue. Cities that don't run utilities will look lower on revenue and spending per resident for that reason alone. What counts as utility revenue

Where the money comes from and where it goes

Per resident, FY2021. Bars show Aurora; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is Utilities & environment: $692 per resident, 30% below the peer median. On the revenue side, utility & transit charges is 27% below peers.

Money in

Revenue

$2,415
per resident29% below peers
Money in: Aurora revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$9036% belowpeers $961
$34327% belowpeers $472
$3138% abovepeers $290
$24251% abovepeers $160
$23133% belowpeers $345
$2052.2×peers $94
$17820% belowpeers $223
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$2,422
per resident28% below peers
Money out: Aurora spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$69230% belowpeers $990
$61211% belowpeers $685
$49912% abovepeers $444
$33214% belowpeers $385
$20549% belowpeers $404
$8217% abovepeers $70
None reported · peers $1$0None reported
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Aurora and its peers

The five Colorado municipalities nearest on population, median household income and region. Budget size isn’t a matching factor, so peers aren’t chosen on the figures being compared. Per resident, FY2021. How peers are chosen

Open in Compare
Aurora compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
AuroraUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 14.2% of total revenue in FY2021. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$2,415$2,422$1,421$903$2,145
Colorado SpringsUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 52.4% of total revenue in FY2021. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$3,915$3,355$922$726$5,231
DenverUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 6.6% of total revenue in FY2021. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 1.7× the Colorado median.$7,097$7,599$2,694$1,443$12,183
LakewoodUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 0.5% of total revenue in FY2021. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$1,498$1,191$942$736$142
Fort CollinsUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 33.2% of total revenue in FY2021. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$3,396$4,233$1,276$961$1,324
WestminsterUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 16.6% of total revenue in FY2021. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$2,640$2,404$1,531$1,041$2,987
Peer median$3,396$3,355$1,276$961$2,987

Utilities marks a municipality whose revenue and spending include city-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit), which raises its per-resident totals.

Regional hub marks a municipality whose sales tax per resident is at least 1.5× the Colorado median: a shopping or visitor hub where people who live elsewhere pay much of the sales tax.

Trends

Every available fiscal year. Lines break where a year is missing or withheld; nothing is interpolated.

  • This city
  • Peer median
  • Withheld (shown on the axis, no value)
  • Colorado median (Census of Governments years only)
Revenue per resident
FY2016 $1,677 to FY2023 $2,756.$0$2K$4K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,943Peer median FY2017: $3,014Peer median FY2018: $3,319Peer median FY2019: $3,322Peer median FY2020: $3,180Peer median FY2021: $3,396Peer median FY2022: $4,041Peer median FY2023: $3,462Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,677FY2017: $1,703FY2018: $1,815FY2019: $2,035FY2020: $2,271FY2021: $2,415FY2022: $2,558FY2023: $2,756

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2019, FY2020, FY2022, FY2023. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table
Revenue per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$1,677$2,943$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2017$1,703$3,014$2,694 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$1,815$3,319$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,035$3,322$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,271$3,180$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,415$3,396$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022$2,558$4,041$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,756$3,462$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $1,659 to FY2023 $2,956.$0$2.3K$4.7K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $3,038Peer median FY2017: $3,117Peer median FY2018: $3,979Peer median FY2019: $2,759Peer median FY2020: $2,979Peer median FY2021: $3,355Peer median FY2022: $3,732Peer median FY2023: $4,673Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,659FY2017: $1,693FY2018: $1,915FY2019: $2,048FY2020: $2,276FY2021: $2,422FY2022: $2,716. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2023: $2,956. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Census definition change: Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.

Peer group changed in FY2019, FY2020, FY2022, FY2023, the same year as the census definition change. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table
Expenditures per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$1,659$3,038$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2017$1,693$3,117$2,663 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$1,915$3,979$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,048$2,759$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,276$2,979$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,422$3,355$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022$2,716$3,732$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,956$4,673$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $852 to FY2023 $1,562.$0$780.8$1.6K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,082Peer median FY2017: $1,118Peer median FY2018: $1,039Peer median FY2019: $1,003Peer median FY2020: $1,093Peer median FY2021: $1,276Peer median FY2022: $1,382Peer median FY2023: $1,367Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $852FY2017: $875FY2018: $935FY2019: $1,058FY2020: $1,248FY2021: $1,421FY2022: $1,522FY2023: $1,562

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2019, FY2020, FY2022, FY2023. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table
Tax revenue per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$852$1,082$705 (193 reporting)
FY2017$875$1,118$1,098 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$935$1,039$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,058$1,003$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,248$1,093$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,421$1,276$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$1,522$1,382$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,562$1,367$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $1,736 to FY2023 $2,130.$0$1.5K$3K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,161Peer median FY2017: $972Peer median FY2018: $2,120Peer median FY2019: $1,457Peer median FY2020: $1,852Peer median FY2021: $2,987Peer median FY2022: $2,274Peer median FY2023: $1,563Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,736FY2017: $1,788FY2018: $1,736FY2019: $1,558FY2020: $1,559FY2021: $2,145FY2022: $2,129FY2023: $2,130

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2019, FY2020, FY2022, FY2023. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table
Debt per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$1,736$1,161$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2017$1,788$972$1,482 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$1,736$2,120$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,558$1,457$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,559$1,852$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,145$2,987$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$2,129$2,274$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,130$1,563$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Aurora’s finances

How much revenue does Aurora collect per resident?
Aurora collected $2,415 per resident in FY2021, in line with the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Aurora's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Aurora spent $2,422 per resident in FY2021, 28% below the median of its peers: Colorado Springs, Denver, Lakewood, Fort Collins and Westminster. See the figure
How much debt does Aurora have per resident?
Aurora carried $2,145 of debt per resident in FY2021, 28% below its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Aurora compared with?
Aurora is compared with Colorado Springs, Denver, Lakewood, Fort Collins and Westminster: the Colorado municipalities nearest to it on population, median household income and region. Budget size isn't used, so peers aren't chosen on the figures being compared. See the peer table
Where do these numbers come from?
From the U.S. Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, as each government reported its own fiscal year, divided by Census population estimates. Figures that fail quality checks are withheld rather than shown. Sources and methodology

Community context

American Community Survey 5-year estimates and Census population estimates. Where the selected year isn’t available, the nearest earlier year is shown and labeled.

Population growth (5-yr)
+1.1%/yr
2021 estimate
Median household income
$72.1K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
10.2%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$350.2K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
4.7%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Denver Metro

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Aurora, CO municipal finance benchmarks

Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab). Please credit “Source: Orivian Municipal Index, orivian.ai/benchmarks”. See the data use terms.

Notes: dollars are nominal (not inflation-adjusted). Colorado medians cover the municipalities reporting that year. Peers: nearest on population, income and region. Definitions: orivian.ai/benchmarks/methodology.Retrieved October 12, 2026 from orivian.ai/benchmarks.

Every figure on this page is read from the published index; nothing is recalculated for display. Read the methodology

Utilities & environment is Aurora’s largest difference from its peers (30% below the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

Orivian applies the same sourced, governed approach to your city's own budget-vs-actual data.

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